brichtimp

There are so many skilled young percussionists these days that a corps like C2 can start with a higher baseline to build from in that area....seems more challenging to find young brass players who can crank through a full show of Cadets-level drill demand with just weekends to build the endurance....but they made good strides this year.

Excellent points. I thought ES was highly entertaining, but both their brass and percussion were actually outscored by C2 at Finals. Bucs, Cabs and MBI all seemed to have a little more maturity; and the C2 drill seemed to be right on the edge at times of what those kids could handle while aiming for a quality sound. I noticed at Prelims the staging issue where C2's weak link was very exposed and their strongest area spent too much time at the back. I'd kinda like to see them back off a little on frenetic drill and try to fill the low brass holes earlier in the season. All that said, we really enjoyed the stylistic contrast among the top 7 corps....lots of creativity on display.

Well, the Cab's guard certainly smoked C2...props to their superiority in that caption; and I gave the edge to Cabs' brass (based on Prelims comparison)...but the .2 spread in Percussion (Finals) could certainly be up for discussion :-)

Looking forward to your review. We dug Prelims...good performances, good food and great venue for drum corps sight and sound. Really enjoyed the entertainment value of Empire Statesmen as they 'exit stage left.' Looking at Finals recap, it seems like C2 might have finished 4th overall with a stronger guard score; but the top six corps were all strong in different and enjoyable ways.

That was the All Western Band Review in Long Beach....the best 75 parade bands in California.

Yes, Revelli was very influential in his insistence on college marching bands producing quality sound with attention to the same musical elements as a sit-down band. His symphony band was remarkable in its beauty of tone and controlled dynamic power. Since our band directors at Long Beach were U of M grads who survived Revelli's dictatorial approach, they had him come out and do a guest conducting shot with our band....man, the rehearsals were intense...no one wanted to be called out for even a moment of inattention. One more thought about marches. Out in So Cal, there is still a long standing tradition of high school competition parades....really cool to hear a band like Arcadia or Rancho Bernardo nail great marches like Purple Carnival, Voice of the Guns, etc....a very focused competition zone where scoring is a blend of ticks for marching/phasing/alignment flaws and judging of the musical performance as you might expect.

I think Patrick Swayze in his immortal B movie, Road House, summarized all of this in two words....."opinions vary." I dig the fact that DCI (like the Berlin Phil) can be enjoyed on multiple levels. If a viewer can't find a level that appeals, then, it is what it is. For example, I really liked the fact that Crown integrated Glass, Silvestri, Moren, Strauss and Lovatt-Cooper into an interesting set of drills designed to feature a kick-butt brass line.....ymmv.

I dig the version of Washington Grays recorded back in the 80s by the Michigan Symphony Band under H Robert Reynolds...lots of powerful hairy-chested low brass at a measured tempo. My best Sousa recording also features the Michigan Band from the 1960s under the legendary William D. Revelli...a 100 piece band that is as tight and musically cohesive as a chamber group.....unbelievable precision and attention to every phrasing detail....well worth checking it out....entitled 'Hail Sousa.'

I can feel what is going on with C2 through my snare line son....he is really digging how the corps is stepping on the throttle, and the percussion are definitely in attack mode! Good design and intense quality sound...there has to always be a place for that.

Agreed.....that's where the stamina and control really develop. That 89 crew had a really fine G bugle sound with good refinement. This current C2 crew has a mix of very strong and weaker players, but love the way they are steaming ahead now.

Nice review, Jeff! My son texted that although C2 snares and bass drums were really on, the quads and pit had some less clean segments (drum judge seemed to agree); so I think the percussion battle royal on Saturday could be epic! I agree about the need for a few more impact moments. Of course, the '89 show featured a strong and rich brass line in comparison to this current mix of high school kids and some college 'grey beards.'

Say what??? It doesn't require a judge to easily see phasing and spacing issues in the marching of the Bucs (and every other corps there). Just because the Bucs received a relatively higher score doesn't translate to sanitary marching performance...just relatively less slop.

Taking another view of the top four shows, my eyes and ears gave it to Bucs, easily...best combo of power and brass refinement, although their marching is not that swell :-) I think Cabs and ES were both degrees of loud, brash and rasty...relatively unrefined and somewhat overblown brass sound. C2 has a weak guard at this point, and they need to get to a place where they don't have 8 or 9 brass holes to fill in mid August. However, they have a good shot to play the charts musically with some semblance of control and good tone while doing a bunch of up tempo drill. It's kinda hard to re-calibrate after soaking in DCI finals and the excellence of Crown brass and Cadets percussion, etc. However, I am eager to see Minnesota Brass again because it looks like a real dog fight with Bucs in Annapolis.

I was not saying that C2 is closing in on Bucs overall....that won't happen this year; but the C2 drum line is indeed closing in on the Bucs' line. What is this "forced marching of DCI Cadets" you speak of??

OK...it's working now.....just viewed the C2 performance...they are making progress, but need to get those new brass players in the mix real soon..that has to be limiting their visual score (among other things). My son (on the snare line) sent me a text after scores were announced. They are closing in on the Bucs, and that was their cleanest performance yet, but the staging is not optimal...battery spends too much time, imho, at the back of the field...but love the attitude and confidence on display! I also think the 'split' section toward the end is getting there, but it needs to build more to drive into the last drill section for maximum impact.

Same thing happened to me first time I attempted to view the Mission Drums event. Tech support emailed instructions to clear all cookies and cache, then try again. I did that. It worked. Can't imagine why, and don't know if the tech support person reset something on the other end first. Give it a try. Funny that I can view the other shows.....only Scranton is blocked.

Yes, I see the videos up there, but although I subscribed yesterday and the site confirms my purchase, when I click on a video, I do not have access...anyone else have that glitch?

My son plays on the C2 snare line....they just got new drums and they have no ringers to integrate....whatever happens with the lower brass line, the C2 percussion is taking direct aim on the big boys above them :-)

Incredible achievement by Crown.....wonderful design and brass quality, and it took every ounce of their ability to edge one of the finest musical ensembles on the planet. Take away the clunky boxes from the Cadets show, and we might have seen 3 corps at the top within one point of the win.

Yesterday on the train coming home from work, I was viewing semi-finals live on my iPad Mini.....no Flash needed.....worked great, even on LTE cell connection.

I would say that BD is playing about every chord type there is, and in some places moving through multiple metric modulations in a few seconds...their complexity and intonation is quite excellent. And, that is taking nothing away from Crown....their choice to bring Paul Lovatt-Cooper's British brass band compositions to the DCI arena is more than cool! These shows can be appreciated on multiple levels, and it's not necessary to bring crowd response into the equation to compare excellence. The Cadets' brass book is magnificent, and still doesn't 'connect' like Crown's....so be it.

From my FN view of the stream, and listening through high quality Sennheiser cans, I think Crown's overall performance was easily their best this summer, especially the seamless brass and excellent guard work. I also think their battery played with high intensity...difficult to tell how dirty or clean, however. With the completely different judging panels each night, it is difficult to correlate scores from night to night; but it is not clear to me that Crown was approx 1.2 points stronger than prelims. I thought BD had some minor flaws in a couple of exposed brass attacks, but jeez....tuning and balancing that book the way they do is a beast! And, the BD pit is flat out awesome! Cadets are doomed by the boxes and imprecise guard work, although their percussion and brass work is for the ages, IMHO. For the sake of competition, I just hope each of the corps gives their best run tonight, and the judging panel pays no attention to what happened the previous two nights in tabulating their finals scores...just go with a clean sheet, and may the most deserving champion emerge.

Great review.....Bravo!!

IMHO, the FN's use of flash player is one of the ongoing negatives related to the quality and consistency of their video. Flash can be integrated effectively.....the Berlin Phil has their fabulous Digital Concert Hall as a splendid example.

Someone in the stands with a freakin' iPhone could broadcast better sound and video :(